61. Doreen Follows Up on the Hair Progress

We haven’t seen [breast cancer mascot] Doreen in a while, so here she is demonstrating my hair progress between October 1, 2022 and October 31, 2023. The photo from today (2023) is a screenshot from Zoom before our (hybrid) rounds with the residents this morning… much easier than trying to position Doreen over my head […]

On Wearing a White Coat

The interns nowadays at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) wear short white coats with short sleeves. When we were interns, the only thing distinguishing us from the rest of the medical students was a red nameplate; the other students had white nameplates pinned to the all-white uniform that was common to first- to fifth-year medical […]

That was fun… we’d like an encore, please!

September 30, 2023 Maraming salamat, UP Symphony Orchestra! We enjoyed the collaboration between our university musicians and our Performing Arts Medicine team from the PGH Department of Rehabilitation Medicine in this series of three musicians’ health talks. Dr. Ria Panis and Ms. Florence Culaba (psychologist) talked about ergonomics and mindfulness, respectively, before their Saturday rehearsal […]

9th Annual Balik-Scientist Convention

September 27, 2023 Today’s (out of of town) event: 9th Balik Scientist Program (BSP) annual convention. Arrived at the convention center Tuesday the 26th, did a dry run of the presentation, had dinner with local relatives in the Angeles City area. To refresh your memory: I received a Balik Scientist Program award grant for a […]

First day of clinic: look, I match the wall!

I suppose that’s a good sign, right? After leaving the clinical world in 2019 for a 2-year expensive and soul-searching sabbatical + 1 year of health issues + easing back into medicine after that year through teaching duties… here I am! Outpatient clinic every Thursday afternoon. May consider doing Tuesday afternoons too, if needed. But […]

Moderating a Webinar, Fueled by Caffeine

Social media post for Thursday, September 14, 2023: I did this today. Fueled by caffeine. Not sure I want to do it ever again. So many things to pay attention to when moderating a webinar… but thankful to the UP Medicine Class of 1999 webinar tech team behind the scenes for all their help. Backstory: […]

Musicians’ Health Series with the UP Symphony Orchestra

Proud of our PGH Department of Rehabilitation Medicine team at today’s musicians’ health series talks with the University of the Philippines Symphony Orchestra! We did a short slide show on optimizing performance followed by a warm-up and stretching regimen in preparation for their Saturday morning rehearsal. Grateful for the opportunity! Read about our first session […]

Symphonic Rides by UPSO

Medical school memory (perhaps in internship year?): I remember walking along Pedro Gil St. towards the College of Medicine’s entrance gates, and talking to forever block mate Lyanna about my future practice in Performing Arts Medicine. In particular, how I would get an “ex-deal” with tickets… get to watch performances for free in exchange for […]

The “M Collaborations”: U.P. Music x Medicine

A mid-August visit to the University of the Philippines College of Music: it felt like coming home! Soon after we launched our series of health talks with the University of the Philippines Symphony Orchestra, I attended a wonderful, productive, inspiring meeting with the College of Music dean, college secretary, faculty members and a music therapist […]